Paypal is getting worse for sellers

P

Pro-Star

Active member
I sold an item in e-bay and used paypal. To my surprise, the money was on hold for 21 days. The buyer received the product already and enjoying it but my money is still on hold :( The buyer even leaves me a positive feedback already. I need the fund to buy something but then I cannot get it for 21 days. Big time sucks!!!

Sorry for the rant.

Jun
 
21 days? something is awry. i use paypal for selling all the time and it never takes more than 3 days
 
Looks to me as if the buyer payed with an "e-check" which usually takes 10 days to clear. It happened to me the other day that I used PayPal to pay for an Ebay auction, but since my credit card they had on file expired and I forgot to update, the money was on hold for 2 weeks because it was considered an "e-check".
 
Ye, I contacted them by e-mail and waiting for their response.
Here's a copy from the pending status of my money.

PayPal and eBay are working together to make payments for eBay items even safer. Because we want both buyers and sellers to feel confident about sending and receiving payments through PayPal, we may temporarily hold payments for items sold on eBay.
Make sure to ship the item right away, so you'll have access to the funds sooner. We'll release the hold in 21 days unless you receive a dispute, claim, chargeback, or reversal on the transaction subject to the hold. We may release the hold earlier if either of the following occurs:
  • The buyer leaves you positive feedback on eBay.
  • We confirm that the item was delivered.* We can confirm delivery if you ship the item with USPS, FedEx, or UPS and either use PayPal shipping labels or upload tracking information from the transaction details page. This applies to transactions within the United States.
 
junprostar said:
  • We confirm that the item was delivered.* We can confirm delivery if you ship the item with USPS, FedEx, or UPS and either use PayPal shipping labels or upload tracking information from the transaction details page. This applies to transactions within the United States.
Click to expand...

I may be wrong but i have been using paypal for over 4 years and this does not sound like them. Since you went through ebay i wouldnt see it being a phishing paypal site but maybe? On another note i would never ship anything until i have the money.

I hope this is not the case
 
This message I have copied from the paypal site after I logged in.
Here's the complete message from their site:


Pending Balance

pixel.gif
pixel.gif



Currency : U.S. Dollar

Balance Type AmountMinimum Reserve : $0.00 USDRolling Reserve : $0.00 USDGift Certificates : $0.00 USDPayment Review Holds:$0.00 USDPayment hold for eBay item: $242.45 USDTotal Pending Balance: $242.45 USDWe're holding the funds for 1 payment that you've received for items sold on eBay.
The total amount on hold in your account is: $242.45 USD
PayPal and eBay are working together to make payments for eBay items even safer. Because we want both buyers and sellers to feel confident about sending and receiving payments through PayPal, we may temporarily hold payments for items sold on eBay.

Make sure to ship the item right away, so you'll have access to the funds sooner. We'll release the hold in 21 days unless you receive a dispute, claim, chargeback, or reversal on the transaction subject to the hold. We may release the hold earlier if either of the following occurs:
  • The buyer leaves you positive feedback on eBay.
  • We confirm that the item was delivered.* We can confirm delivery if you ship the item with USPS, FedEx, or UPS and either use PayPal shipping labels or upload tracking information from the transaction details page. This applies to transactions within the United States.
Additional hold period
If you receive a dispute, claim, chargeback, or reversal on the transaction subject to the hold, we may hold the payment until the problem is resolved.
Learn more about the PayPal policy for payments holds on eBay items.
* This applies to US domestic transactions that are shipped by USPS, FedEx, or UPS and either (i) use PayPal shipping labels to ship items or (ii) provide tracking information to PayPal.


Policy for payment holds for eBay items

pixel.gif
pixel.gif

What is a payment hold for eBay items?
It is a hold that PayPal places on a payment you receive for an item you sold on eBay. The amounts held will be shown as "Pending" in your PayPal account. You still have access to all other funds in your PayPal account.

Why are my payments being held?
Payment holds for eBay items are an effort to increase marketplace safety. We hold payments when we suspect a transaction may be risky. Here are the most common instances in which an eBay item payment may be held:
  • You have been an eBay member for less than 6 months, and you sell an item for more than $100
  • You have an eBay feedback score of less than 100, and you sell an item for more than $100
  • You have a buyer dissatisfaction percentage* greater than 5%
  • You have an average DSR of less than 4.5
  • You have received fewer than 20 Detailed Seller Ratings in the last 12 months
  • You are listing your item in a high-risk category such as gift certificates, video games, cell phones, computers, or consumer electronics.

When will PayPal release the hold?
Your funds will be released when one of the following occurs:
  • The buyer leaves you positive feedback
  • 3 days pass after proof the item was delivered**
  • 21 days pass without a dispute, claim, chargeback, or reversal filed on the transaction
We may hold the funds longer if your buyer files a dispute, claim, chargeback, reversal or has otherwise taken action to dispute the transaction.
Learn more about the PayPal policy for payment holds for eBay items.
* Buyer dissatisfaction percentage is measured by adding negative events as a percentage of your transactions. Negative events include negative & neutral Feedback, Detailed Seller Ratings scores of 2 or less, and Item Not Received or Significantly Not As Described disputes.
** This applies to US domestic transactions that are shipped by USPS, FedEx, or UPS and either (i) use PayPal shipping labels to ship items or (ii) upload tracking information to PayPal via the transaction details page. If a payment is being held, it will be shown as "Pending" in your PayPal account until it is released.




I have sold a lot before but wasn't hold, so I guess this is their new policy. I have 50 positive feedbacks so I was affected.

Jun
 
Last edited:
Odd, I received the same message regarding the hold on the money. I have a 100% on ebay as a buyer/seller. I'm at a loss to explain it. This new policy is punishing those of us that pay/ship same day.
 
Paypal is the biggest crap ever... having sent and recieved dozens of payments through paypal and never had any problem and they made lots of money and fees through my transactions. Now I sold my old Powerbook on eBay and the buyer (from France) paid via paypal. So far so good. 5 days after payment, the buyer claimed for "buyer protection"(don't know the english phrase)and the money (approx700$) is highjacked since that date. They put my account to negative for that ammount(because I allready cashed it out).Now I can't even send payments anymore.I sent the Powerbook via DHL and the online tracking of DHL says the buyer recieved the item 8 weeks ago. I faxed the reciept to paypal several times, but they didn't do anything. So if you are a buyer...allways use paypal, because this is the easiest way of ripping of the seller since their new policy which only protects buyers, not sellers. And paypal doesn't even care.
They suck and are the worst online pay-service ever. I will definately never use paypal again. To my opinion nowadays even sending money as a letter is safer (no one should do that though)
 
So....Just to toss in another opinion here.

I've used Paypal since it started. I've done over $75K USD in transactions. In 8 years, I've had two conflicts were resolved fairly, according to their terms, and in a reasonable amount of time. Several times I've phoned, and spoken to a person, not a computer.

The 3% fee is standard for merchant rates. If you don't like that you can go to your bank and try and negotiate lower rates for accepting VISA, MC, AMEX, Discover etc. You can also get 1.5% back if you use Paypal's debit card. I don't think a merchant account from your bank will do that.

(If you don't like the fees have them send cash wrapped in aluminum foil to your house. Of course, if they don't have cash to buy your item, and were planning on using their credit card to increase their debt, or get miles/points on their card, I guess you are out of luck, and you'll have to look for a buyer with cash.)

...I'm just sayin'
 
I tried to pay via painpal last night.....I never want to have a painpal account but somehow they managed to force me into one....only to say I couldnt pay in the end.....now I have a painpal account without ever wanting one and I am not allowed to use it .

today I found out that it was because the prize was over 500$......wtf ! these cybercrime scammers from robmania and putinstan hacked painpal so thoroughly, that now its kicked back against the honest users? I tried to call their service line: I can only report fraud and phish mails hahahahaha.....what a fugged up company!
 
timbook2 said:
I tried to pay via painpal last night.....I never want to have a painpal account but somehow they managed to force me into one....only to say I couldnt pay in the end.....now I have a painpal account without ever wanting one and I am not allowed to use it .

today I found out that it was because the prize was over 500$......wtf ! these cybercrime scammers from robmania and putinstan hacked painpal so thoroughly, that now its kicked back against the honest users? I tried to call their service line: I can only report fraud and phish mails hahahahaha.....what a fugged up company!
Click to expand...

If you go through their verification process, the limit will be lifted.

BTW, for all you PayPal haters. Show me another way to take a credit card without incurring any monthly fees from your bank (for a commercial account), from the credit card processor, and from the online gateway. At a minimum you'll be paying $40/month for the privilege of taking credit cards. Then you have the transaction fees - most of the people bitching and moaning in this thread will not qualify as high volume sellers and thus will have high fees - $.20 - $.50 per transaction + 1.5 - 7% (even more sometimes).

Oh yeah, all this is for MC and Visa. If you want to accept AmEx, pay more. If you want to accept Discover, pay more. If you want to accept e-checks, pay more.

The CC companies have varable rates! They quote you the lowest rate when they try to hook you. That assumes that you have the card in your hand and have taken every bit of additional info they require. No card (internet transaction) - rate goes up. No address - rate goes up. No phone number - rate goes up. Rewards card - rate goes up. Who do you think pays for all those free miles - the merchant.

Next let's talk refunds. If you have to give one or the CC decides against you ( yes they do that as much if not more than PayPal ) you have to return the $$$. If you issue a refund after the batch closes (same night as the transaction) it is considered a chargeback and will probably cost you $20. I don't recall ever seeing a fee from PayPal for a refund. In fact, they even return the fee you paid them when you got the $$$.

After a bit of research, PayPal is a very viable alternative for most people doing transactions on the internet. Before complaining about PayPal, go set up an alternative and implement it on your site.

I'm not a PayPal fan boy, just trying to put their service in perspective.
 
Last edited:
I've been an eBay seller since the 90's and what Paypal has introduced is seriously bad for sellers.

Paypal is owned by eBay, notorious for incrementally raising fees to the fringe of tolerability. Recent policies under the guise of protecting the consumer are thinly veiled attempts by eBay/Paypal to keep your money for as long as they can. Clearly the longer Paypal can keep your money, the more profit they can make off of having your funds to invest during that time.

Worse, if someone wants to scam you it leaves the door wide open. With any "dispute" Paypal gets to, you guessed it, keep your money until they accept a resolution and they have financial incentive to drag their feet on helping the seller. And good luck if they side with the disputing party who says your item arrived with a scratch. Good luck getting your item back if Paypal releases your funds to the buyer.... NOT good.

I've taken to selling locally for in person cash transactions wherever possible because eBay was dangerous enough already before Paypal added this anti-protection for the seller. If it looks insulting that they do what they do you are not alone in your perspective. They claim it is incentive for buyers to know they are protected, but unless you are a high volume eBay seller YOU are the one left unprotected and the scammers are VERY aware of your vulnerability.

My bottom line decision before using eBay or Paypal is "can I afford to lose the money". If the profit incentive outweighs the risk its still a viable business decision to use Paypal. Just riskier than it already was; Paypal is going in the wrong direction for seller protection.

It's true that credit cards are not substantially more favorable for sellers to use as another member pointed out. But for most folks selling just a few items credit cards are not an option; for the average person it's Paypal, a Money Order or cash in person.

The Paypal/eBay juggernaut, if you follow their history, is rife with incrementally introduced death by a thousand stab wounds. They gradually roll these things out to muffled screams and people put up with it because they are clever enough to introduce their schemes a little at a time. For instance, eBay really wants sellers to ship for free because then they can charge fees on the entire transaction. Shipping charges are exempt from eBay fees so they are motivated to get you to offer free shipping. So now, we have these seller ratings where the buyer rates your shipping fees and guess what. If you do not have exemplary shipping fee ratings by buyers, PAYPAL CAN HOLD YOUR MONEY. Buyers will ONLY give you good shipping fee ratings if you are essentially willing to take a LOSS on shipping- because buyers tend to always think you should ship for the actual price of postage. That leaves you paying for the box and the packing, or else you get the not-quite-high-enough rating that eBay wants you to have so that their financial department Paypal can hold your money. They win either way, and guess what, either way you as the seller lose just a little more than you did before- a trickling bloody financial death by a thousand stab wounds.

Of course money orders can be forged these days so I'd wait for those to clear just like a personal check before shipping a big ticket item and let the person sending it know that's the case to be fair about the process. Its funny how things go full circle, we're back where we started which is with in person transactions being the safest and best way to sell a major item, except that then you have to ocaisionally deal with wacko's in person. *sigh *

I generally find that more advanced items result in more civilized buyers in person to person transactions, but i avoid like the plague selling cheap stuff in person because that's where the problems arise. Better to sell cheap stuff on the internet and just risk a small financial loss than to deal with cheap stuff buyers in person- much higher wacko rate on people trying to save 50 bucks than on people trying to save a thousand. Just my 2 cents
 
Last edited:
Thanks to everyone's response. Make me think not to use paypal anymore. I just deal locally if I can. I just have to lower my price for the payment to ebay and paypal, make selling faster.

Jun
 
junprostar said:
Thanks to everyone's response. Make me think not to use paypal anymore. I just deal locally if I can. I just have to lower my price for the payment to ebay and paypal, make selling faster.Jun
Click to expand...

That's the cool thing; you can afford to sell locally for less.

On price sensitive sales- and what isn't price sensitive- you can hit a better number for the buyer than what they will find elsewhere with non-local sellers having to incorporate fees into their sale price.

You give a better deal to a local. You make just as much selling it for less since there are no fees. You might sell it faster as a by product of offering it for a lower price. You make a new potential business contact. And most important of all you are not selling it wearing a blindfold, which is pretty much the case with internet sales.

What's not to like, if you live in a metro area where there is demand for your item.

I still like internet sales for items I can afford to lose the entire amount on in a worst case scenario, but for big ticket items that attract the predators- not so much.
 
Last edited:
Paypal is the only alternative at the moment for Spain. I've only had 1 issue as a seller and one issue as a buyer and they both got resolved properly. Although my experience as a seller was similar to yours and it took sometime for paypal to finally decide in my favor.
 
Im glad I have sold my HVX200A locally. A guy from Ogegon drive here to Seattle just to pick it up.

Now who wants to buy my last 16 gig p2 card for $550.00 locally? Absolutely like new.

Jun
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top